Piastri: MCL40 can be quick, but is too difficult to drive

Before the São Paulo Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri said the MCL40 has the potential to be very quick when driven as it needs to be, but that doing so without mistakes is currently too difficult. He said the difficulty of driving it was probably the biggest thing holding McLaren back.

Piastri called McLaren’s development rate in 2026 reasonable and said the team had been strong in the middle of the season compared with the start of 2026. Some rivals had outdeveloped McLaren since mid-season 2026, he said. Red Bull was probably the development benchmark in 2026. McLaren had probably outdeveloped some rivals too, Piastri added, but had not been the benchmark it was in 2024 and 2025.

McLaren has brought revised front and rear wings and a minor floor update to Interlagos. The team hopes the aero package will slightly improve the MCL40’s driveability and says the work will also feed into development of its 2027 car. Norris ran the new parts in FP1, while reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, stepping in for Piastri, was tasked with providing baseline data using the old specification.

McLaren is also aiming to reclaim third place in the constructors’ championship from Red Bull.